Robin Williams just died

The LA Times says that it was an apparent suicide. Williams has long suffered from depression.

Williams “has been battling severe depression of late,” his publicist Mara Buxbaum said. “This is a tragic and sudden loss. The family respectfully asks for their privacy as they grieve during this very difficult time.”

On August 11, 2014, at approximately 11:55 am, Marin County Communications received a 9-1-1 telephone call reporting a male adult had been located unconscious and not breathing inside his residence in unincorporated Tiburon, CA. The Sheriff’s Office, as well as the Tiburon Fire Department and Southern Marin Fire Protection District were dispatched to the incident with emergency personnel arriving on scene at 12:00 pm. The male subject, pronounced deceased at 12:02 pm has been identified as Robin McLaurin Williams, a 63 year old resident of unincorporated Tiburon, CA. An investigation into the cause, manner, and circumstances of the death is currently underway by the Investigations and Coroner Divisions of the Sheriff’s Office.

Preliminary information developed during the investigation indicates Mr. Williams was last seen alive at his residence, where he resides with his wife, at approximately 10:00 pm on August 10, 2014. Mr. Williams was located this morning shortly before the 9-1-1 call was placed to Marin County Communications. At this time, the Sheriff’s Office Coroner Division suspects the death to be a suicide due to asphyxia, but a comprehensive investigation must be completed before a final determination is made. A forensic examination is currently scheduled for August 12, 2014 with subsequent toxicology testing to be conducted.

Here’s is Robin William’s first appearance on the Tonight Show:

And how the Scottish invented golf:

And oh my god, check out the very young other actors in this Dead Poets Society trailer (it’s the guy from House, and Will from Good wife!)

John AravosisFollow me on Twitter: @aravosis | @americablog | @americabloggay | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn. John Aravosis is the former editor of AMERICAblog, which he founded in 2004. He has a joint law degree (JD) and masters in Foreign Service from Georgetown (1989); and worked in the US Senate, World Bank, Children's Defense Fund, and as a stringer for the Economist. Frequent TV pundit: O'Reilly Factor, Hardball, World News Tonight, Nightline & Reliable Sources. Bio, article archive.

Share This Post

My wife and I are big fans of the classic era of Hollywood, from the early pre-Code flicks to 40-50s noir, and I’ve always said that if you can do comedy, drama will be an easy road. Robin Williams fit that classification to T. Hilarious and oftentimes brilliant as a comedian, and an accomplished dramatic actor, too. His like does not come along very frequently these days, and he will be sorely missed.

Silver_Witch

Depression does not care how wealthy you are, how beloved you are. It is a cruel master that will never let you out of its grasp.

just_AC

And here’s an article from the new york daily news expressing my feelings

The world of comedy, acting in drama and comedy and just plain humanity has lost a treasure yesterday. The media has been listing it as an apparent suicide, which it may have been, though one can never rule out sexual asphyxia to heighten ones climax which went horribly wrong. Who knows if this is being covered up or not to protect the family at this point. It will come out after the post is completed and the toxicology report results are out. Do not trust what the media says until the experts have actually done their professional job and the results are in. The family deserves this at least.

He was a brilliant mind and wit; I have seen none faster with a retort and ad lib. It was a premature waste to see him die. R.I.P. Robin; you will be sorely missed.

annatopia

Depression
is such a crippling, isolating disease, and very, very few people show
empathy and compassion for the poor soul who suffers from it. In many
cases the afflicted individual is able to portray a sunny, upbeat face
and persona to the world, when in fact they are quite literally dying
inside.

One does not, nor can not merely “snap out of it”, or
“cheer up”. They are far, far gone. The only way for them to cease the
pain is, sadly and tragically, to cease living. It is indeed lonely
when other illnesses have people rallying around you with support but
depression is looked at as something you can just snap out of.

SkippyFlipjack

I thought it gave me a little more gravitas!

I imagine sometimes success can even exacerbate depression as people deal with the fact that they’re not feeling happy even when experiencing the things that should be making them happy.

Drew2u

Chris Farley was an excellent dramatic actor. Although “Tommy Boy” was a screwball comedy, there were bits in there that showed his range, especially at the end of the movie. I wanted to see him not boxed in by his SNL comedic persona.

Will Farrell blew me away with “Stranger than Fiction” but then came the low-brow Ricky Bobby and the equally pedestrian ice skating movie (can’t even force myself to remember the name of). It hurts to see him have pretty good chops only to just do college-humor movies. If he likes that schtick, great! But I really hate to see untapped potential.

Drew2u

Every time something like this happens, I feel helpless. At least I can donate $10 to the Patch Adams Gesundheit Institute and feel like I’m helping in some small way.

http://AMERICAblog.com/ John Aravosis

Yes of course. And you might want to lose the avatar that claims you run this web site. I get the joke, but. It will confuse people and I’d rather not have that :-)

http://cheapjordan5.biz/ cheapjordan5_biz

Very regrettable, God bless him

http://www.rebeccamorn.com/mind BeccaM

I think you explained it just fine, Mike. I feel the same way.

Normally, I don’t feel much of anything with the passing of a celebrity. This time it’s different, made doubly worse because he left (I guess) because he couldn’t stand the pain of living in this world of ours anymore. And it didn’t have to be. And because of this, we lost a genuine genius (a word I do not use lightly either).

SkippyFlipjack

I’d say that clinical depression is not the same as “sad”, so I think it’s not really a question of whether wealth or fame can bring happiness.

mooresart

Thank you for posting this. I laughed outloud until the tears came. Brilliant stuff from two of the best and sorely needed relief in such a sad time. I’ll bet it’s exactly what he’d have wanted.

Mike_in_the_Tundra

I think it was the endless ideas that made me love him. I really can’t explain it, but he saw connections of ideas that was beyond the rest of us. Yes, he was a great dramatic actor, but his humor was what fascinated me. I wish I could say it better, except that I feel a great vacuum now exists in the world.

judybrowni

I met him, briefly, as a journalist: Williams was not only off-the cuff hilarious, but kind and generous beyond belief (especially for someone already long a star.)

Moderator3

I think it was the endless ideas that made me love him. I really can’t explain it, but he saw connections of ideas that was beyond the rest of us. Yes, he was a great dramatic actor, but his humor was what fascinated me. I wish I could say it better, except that I feel a great vacuum now exists in the world.

Hue-Man

Two decades ago, a friend of mine and I got on an elevator with Williams in Vancouver’s Pan Pacific Hotel. It was a rapid-fire demonstration of his mastery of improvisation performed for an audience of two strangers. Ah, for a tape recorder…

He won’t have to watch the rapid destruction of Canada by Harper and his right-wing Destructive Party of Canada. It’s becoming the leaking oil furnace in a basement filled with toxic sludge. The meth lab will be OK.

MichaelS

That skit is the very definition of raw, unadulterated, brilliant genius.

http://www.rebeccamorn.com/mind BeccaM

Also never, ever make the mistake of thinking depression is someone can just will themselves out of or ‘snap out of’ if they try hard enough.

Couple depression with the chronic pain condition he also is reported to have suffered…

http://www.rebeccamorn.com/mind BeccaM

Personally, it’s Dead Poets Society I think of. It was the first time I saw him and realized his talents went way beyond just ‘screwball comedy.’

Apparently, in addition to depression, Robin Williams also suffered from chronic, debilitating pain — two conditions that often go hand-in-hand, as I can personally attest.

Dave of the Jungle

Depression is a very dangerous condition. It’s hard to imagine that someone who was so successful at bringing happiness to others found life so painful that death was the more desired alternative but this can be the case and we should all learn the lesson from it. Never ignore the symptoms in self or others.

MJ

I have to admit I always feel the same way. Especially people who seem to have so much to look forward to. My bf gets mad at me and reminds me that I still don’t understand the seriousness of Depression.